On Aug. 28, 1978 — almost 27 years to the day before Hurricane Katrina savaged New Orleans — the local Lincoln-Mercury dealer delivered a new Mercury Grand Marquis to Elmo Davis.

The two-tone green 1978 Mercury had a base price of $7,290. Davis treated his car to a life of leisure; and by April 2005, the odometer had yet to record 28,000 miles. That is when the car was offered on the electronic auction block on the Internet.

Jeff Weatherholtz was at his home computer when he saw pictures of the Mercury and a detailed description of the car. The beautiful car brought back memories of the popular television program “Hawaii Five-O” that aired from 1968 to 1980 in which the star of the show drove a black Mercury.

“I want that car,” Weatherholtz remembers thinking. His was the successful bid and then, since green has never been one of his favorite colors; he began worrying about the color.

His worried was for nothing. When he saw the 4,342-pound car arrive at his Annandale, Va., home “I was more than happy and thrilled to learn that it had a sunroof,” he said. He had overlooked that feature on the Internet. The glass sunroof is tinted, as is the windshield.

The Mercury is supported by 15-inch wheels mounted on a lengthy 124-inch wheelbase, all of which combine to provide a cushy, luxurious ride.

“It’s great in a straight line,” Weatherholtz says, “Otherwise the handling is poor.”

Other surprise and delight features on the car include an automatic temperature control. The cruise control is operated by switches on the two spokes of the steering wheel. The AM/FM radio also can handle an eight-track tape recording.

The unique two-tone color combination on the outside is carried into the cabin, which is upholstered with two-tone leather door panels. Closing each door is made easier by using the green leather pull straps. Both front seats are equipped with headrests and pull down armrests.

The steering wheel, carpeting and dashboard are all green, highlighted by plastic wood trim. Dual pin stripes separate the two exterior colors and sweep up and over the roof. “It’s gorgeous to look at,” Weatherholtz enthuses.

Rear seat passengers are swaddled in comfort with a pair of speakers on the package shelf and courtesy lights on both sides of the compartment. The doors are so long that the right one has two ashtrays, one for the front seat passenger and one at the rear of the door for back seat smokers.

Both outside mirrors can be adjusted remotely and the windshield wipers have an intermittent function. Surprisingly, the Mercury does not have a rear window defogger. A pair of backup lights flanks the W-I-D-E Mercury label at the rear of the Grand Marquis.

Above the grille at the front of the car is a distinctive stand-up hood ornament. Beneath the expansive hood is an enormous 460-cubic-inch V8 engine that delivers 202 emission-controlled horsepower. A four-barrel carburetor feeds fuel to the massive powerplant. “It needs that big engine to move the big car,” Weatherholtz says. He adds that to date the engine is smooth and reliable. Even with all that power the speedometer is capped at 80 mph because that is the way things were in the late 1970s.

Weatherholtz takes satisfaction in the knowledge that he may have saved his Mercury by purchasing it and having it trucked out of New Orleans less than four months before the Hurricane Katrina-soaked levies broke and flooded the area.

In the three years that he has owned the Mercury he has driven it less than 400 miles. The odometer now has recorded 28,319 miles in the last 30 years.

“There was a time,” he observes, “when cars like this roamed the earth.”

For your car to become the subject of the Classic Classics column, send a photo (frontal 3/4 view), plus brief details and phone number to Vern Parker, 2221 Abbotsford Drive, Vienna, VA 22181. Only photos of good quality will be considered. No customs or hotrods accepted.

(Click here if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device) The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek celebrates the life of its founder Ruth Bancroft who died at 109 on November 26, 2017. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a nonprofit public dry garden that was planted by Mrs. Ruth Bancroft in 1972 and was opened to the...